Parents charged in connection to death of 6-year-old girl

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The mother of a 6-year-old Massachusetts girl found dead told her 9-year-old son not to call 911 and used super glue to close a wound on his neck, police said Wednesday.

Thirty-seven-year-old Shana Pedroso and 38-year-old Marvin Brito were charged with two counts of reckless endangerment of a child at Fitchburg District Court Wednesday. Pedroso was separately charged with assault and battery, while Brito was charged with permitting substantial injury to a child.

Both parents have pleaded not guilty.

District Attorney Joseph Early told reporters that police responding to a call at a Fitchburg home Tuesday found the injured boy and non-responsive girl. Brito and Pedroso were arrested, and are being held without bail. A hearing is set for April 18.

The girl was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. Police said she had "extensive bruising" all over her body and the boy had bruising on his face and a neck wound. The boy told police that bullies attacked him and his sister the previous day when their parents left them unattended during a family walk.

He said his mother had glued a wound on his neck with super glue. It's unknown when or how the boy suffered the wound. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The Department of Children and Families have taken custody of the boy.

He also said his mother was angry at his sister Tuesday morning for not drinking.

Police say the children's mother kept notes saying the children were "bad," so they were "beaten," in an entry dated Monday.

Attorneys for Pedroso and Brito could not be immediately reached for comment.

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This story has been corrected to show that arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, not Tuesday.